So far all tests have been done on finished product, but problem may be found deeper than that, says food monitoring service

Food Sentry, a global food monitoring service, said it may understand why the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to figure out why dogs are becoming ill from chicken jerky treats. While the FDA has posted more than 280 test results, that testing has all been conducted on the finished jerky treat products, rather than on any of the treats' ingredients.

"In
the Beijing/Tianjin/Hebei/Shandong region alone there are more than 350,000
chicken farms that supply chicken product manufacturers in the region," said Food Sentry Chief Operating Officer and Analyst Scott Witt. "This is relevant because this highly industrialized area is significantly
contaminated with dozens of industrial byproducts."

Witt,
who helped develop a system for the FDA that predicts the likelihood
of contamination of imported food, used the leather-making industry
to illustrate his point. "One
of the dirtiest industries in terms of contamination is the tanning
industry," he said. "One of the many contaminants in the tanning process is
chromium, which leaves a residue on the tanned product. Leather scrap is left
over after the manufacturing process and, because it is relatively high in
protein, it is often hydrolyzed and sold as a protein feed product." Witt identified hexavalent chromium as having the potential to build up
in the chickens if they eat the contaminated feed. That toxin could then get
passed on to the dogs, which, over time, may potentially get sick and die as a
result.

The FDA needs to "get to the beginning of the product's life
and look deeply," according to Witt.